Newberry coffee shop raises money for food bank

A business in Luce County took some time tonight to help feed the community by using cups of coffee.

Great Waters Coffee Company opened in downtown Newberry earlier this year. The owners moved to the area from Seattle within the last year, but one of them has roots in Luce County. The store is donating 20% of the sales that it made from 4 to 6 p.m. to the Feeding America Sault Ste. Marie food bank.

“I’m from right here in Newberry, grew up here, lived here my whole life,” Great Waters Coffee co-owner Rebecca Kenny said. “My parents still live here, so it’s wonderful to be back here and to be part of the community again.”

“We’ve been involved in the past a lot with food banks throughout our lives, helping with charity events and volunteering ourselves,” Great Waters Coffee co-owner David Kenny said. “We’ve heard of Feeding America and wanted to get in contact with them.”

The Sault Ste. Marie food bank distributes food to dozens of agencies in Luce, Chippewa and Mackinac counties. One of those agencies is The Link, the Luce County Community Resource and Recreation Center.

“The numbers are growing in Luce County right now,” Feeding America Sault Ste. Marie branch manager Lee Ann Izzard said. “We have about 70 agencies. Some are holiday-only programs, and some are summer-only programs, so a smaller amount will get (food) from us on a regular basis.”

“A year ago or so, we fed about six people a week with food out besides feeding people every day,” The Link executive director Mary Archambeau said. “We make breakfast and lunch at the center every day. Now we’re up to 10, sometimes 10 in a day.”

There’s no word yet on how much money Great Waters Coffee raised tonight. The Kennys say they expect to know the total sometime on Friday.